2017 BMW 5-Series Touring spotted almost undisguised

The next generation of the BMW 5-Series Touring has been spotted testing ahead of its arrival in the middle of the year 2017.

Set to go on sale approximately three months after the 5 Series sedan arrives in dealerships at the beginning of the year, the 5 Series Touring will be able to compete with the likes of the Audi A6 Avant, Jaguar XF Sportbrake, Volvo V90 and the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class estate.

2017 BMW 5 Series sedan revealed in full – click here to view it

Like the sedan, this last round of test mule shows an evolution of the current car’s design language, which is characterized by its thinner, wider grille. The style of the inspiration came from the new 7 Series, while the influences of 2014 on the Gran Lusso Coupe concept could also be adopted. At the rear, the Touring has a hill start with new tail-light clusters.

As is tradition, BMW is expected to improve at the expense of the space offered by the current 5 Series Touring, which offers 560 litres with the rear seats in place, up to 1670 litres with them folded away.

The engines of the Tour will be shared with the 5 Series sedan and include a range of four and six-cylinder powertrains from launch. A family of the common 2.0-litre and 3.0-litre petrol and diesel units of functionality, as well as a successor to the current triple-turbo 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel. This engine is a new quad-turbo six-cylinder engine intended to be used in the company’s high-end models, and it is said to develop well over 400bhp and 590lb ft.

An all-new V8 engine will also be offered in some markets, even if it is not yet known if this engine will be available in the UK.

Also available is a BMW 5 Series Touring Hybrid model, pairing a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor to produce a combined output of 242bhp and 295lb ft. This device has already been driven out by the Coach in the 3-Series eDrive.

Later in the car’s life cycle, BMW could also give the Tour its new 1.5-litre petrol and diesel turbo three-cylinder engine, helping the German manufacturer to counter increasingly stringent European emissions legislation. Both the petrol and the diesel versions of the three-cylinder engines are tested in combination with electric motors.

The seventh generation of the BMW 5 Series is based on a sophisticated system to the new platform-known internally as OKL (Oberklasse or “luxury class’). Different versions of the new platform will be seen in future generations of the X5 and X6 and also the upcoming X7.

As with the square, which lights up to 100kg compared to its predecessor, BMW will be looking to lower the curb weight of the 5 Series Touring below the 1785kg today 520i SE.

While the 5 Series sedan range will be crowned by the 600bhp M5, which is a new developed version of the 4.4-liter V8 used today by the car, there is currently no intention of producing a Touring version of this model. The most powerful 5 Series Touring will come to the Alpina and be named B5 Touring.